Yemen’s Karman hopes Kuwaiti monarch’s visit to Riyadh could make breakthrough in crisis of GCC

2017-06-06

Commenting on the apparent mediation effort led by Kuwait’s emir after the kingdom and several Gulf states severed ties with Qatar, the human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman today expressed hope that the visit of the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, to Riyadh could succeed in resolving the Gulf crisis between Qatar and the other three GCC members, namely Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.

"We could only praise the efforts exerted by the emir of Kuwait and count on his wisdom to solve the problem," Karman said in a statement on social media.

Three Arab countries, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, led by Saudi Arabia have recently severed ties with Qatar because of what they called its support for terrorist groups and involvement in regional conflicts.

Based on a statement released on Saudi news agency, SPA, Doha is accused of backing militant groups and spreading violent ideology in a clear reference to Qatar’s state-controlled cable news channel, Al Jazeera.

“Qatar embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly,” SPA said.